Ghoul Vibes Nation is bringing you all things ghoulish the month. We’ve had reviews and a top 10 grossing horror films of all time. That one is actually still haunting me. See I’m a ghost hunter/lover and cemetery enthusiast. Halloween is my favorite holiday. The problem is I’m also a very lucid dreamer and that isn’t always a good thing in my house. When I searched for graphics on the top ten grossing horror movies article, some of them were scary enough to have me cussing at the devil in my sleep that night. Yeah, it doesn’t do well for a good night’s sleep for any of us.
Since I can remember I’ve been attracted to scary movies. At the age of seventeen, I learned can’t watch them all. During summer break my mom and I sat down to watch Stephen Kings’ Children of the Corn. We turned it off in the first ten to fifteen minutes. I’m a huge King fan, I just can’t read or watch all of his work. What I do watch and read he never disappoints me.
I’ve learned to know what movies I can watch. The hubby will watch and give me a yay or nay. Our first date was Return of the Living Dead and I married him. Probably because we didn’t actually watch much of the movie…. The husband has gotten good at getting his arm across my eyes to block certain parts of movies and shows that I don’t need to see. It was the hubby who suggested I write an article on movies that are scary but not too scary. Here are my top ten suggestions and what I have watched over the years. This can at least give you an idea if its something you would like to try watching?
Happy Haunting
Poltergeist
This 1982 is my top and favorite scary movie. I don’t sleep with the closet open and when someone gave my daughter a clown doll like the one in the movie I threw it out. The scope: strange and creepy things start happening to an average California family, the Freelings. Initially friendly and playful, the spirits turn unexpectedly menacing. When their daughter starts to commune with ghosts through the television set things go turn to the dark side. I still pray before watching this movie. Also, a tip if things like this start to happen in your house get out!!
I am Legend
2007 -Will Smith was awesome in this movie and I will admit the zombie faces can bother me for a while after watching. This movie is just a great horror film overall. Robert Neville (Will Smith), a brilliant scientist, is a survivor of a man-made plague that transforms humans into bloodthirsty mutants. He wanders alone through New York City, calling out for other possible survivors, and works on finding a cure for the plague using his own immune blood. Neville knows he is badly outnumbered and the odds are against him, and all the while, the infected wait for him to make a mistake that will deliver Neville into their hands.
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
2012 – Based on the book which was awesome, the film is about, Abraham Lincoln who as a small boy loses his mother to a vampire’s bite. He vows revenge, but fails in the attempt, narrowly escaping with his life. He is rescued by Henry (Dominic Cooper), a charismatic vampire hunter who instructs Abe in the fine art of dispatching bloodsuckers. Abe (Benjamin Walker) continues his fight against the undead well into adulthood and his presidency, making a last stand against the ultimate vampire foe (Rufus Sewell) on the eve of the Civil War’s defining battle.
The Others
2001 -Nicole Kidman has done some good horror movies this and another further on my list. Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), moves her family to the English coast during World War II. She awaits word on her missing husband while protecting her children from a rare photosensitivity disease that causes the sun to harm them. Anne claims she sees ghosts, Grace initially thinks the new servants are playing tricks but chilling events and visions make her believe something supernatural has occurred.
Carrie
1976 – This one of my favorite Stephen King books & films. The first film for I have not seen the newer one because I am such a John Travolta and Sissy Spacek fan. In this chilling adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel, Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) a withdrawn and sensitive teen faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious religious mother (Piper Laurie) at home. When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers. Invited to the prom by the empathetic Tommy Ross (William Katt), Carrie tries to let her guard down, but things eventually take a dark and violent turn.
Christine
1983 – Christine is another Stephen King book turned film both awesome. It’s an old one and a good one. Not too gory and one of my first horror films. Unpopular nerd Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) buys a 1958 Plymouth Fury, which he names Christine. Arnie develops an unhealthy obsession with the car, to the alarm of his jock friend, Dennis Guilder (John Stockwell). After bully Buddy Repperton (William Ostrander) defaces Christine, the auto restores itself to perfect condition and begins killing off Buddy and his friends. Determined to stop the deaths, Dennis and Arnie’s girlfriend, Leigh Cabot (Alexandra Paul), decide to destroy Christine. I’m really surprised this hasn’t gotten a remake.
Practical Magic
1998 – Base on the best-selling novel and sometimes labeled as romantic Syfy comedy, I think this has enough to be considered a horror / Halloween movie. Starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman they play sisters Sally and Gillian Owens. The two have always known they were different from other people – they are witches. Raised by their aunts after their parents’ death, the sisters grew up in a household that was anything but normal — their aunts fed them brownies for breakfast and taught them the uses of practical magic. But being a member of the Owens family carries a curse: The men they fall in love with are doomed to an untimely death.
Jaws
1975 – Classic!! If this comes on the Tv my hubby will watch till the end. He says he begged his dad to take him as a kid to see this. About 30 minutes or so in he wanted to leave but his dad wouldn’t let him. Dad says they left, I don’t know who has it right but to this day they both love the movie. directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel of the same name. In the film, a man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers at a summer resort town, prompting police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw).
Paranormal Activity
2007 – Both of my daughters did not like this movie. Ideally, I shouldn’t have but their reactions has put it in my top ten. One daughter was the first one out of the movie theatre. The other jumped off the chair and ran out of the house. I’m telling ya peeps if this stuff starts in your house leave! It centers on a young couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. They then set up a camera to document what is haunting them.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
1975 – A musical comedy horror show and doesn’t get much better than this. One of my bucket list items is to see this live, not sure that will happen now with COVID. The story centers on a young engaged couple whose car breaks down in the rain near a castle where they seek a telephone to call for help. The castle or country home is occupied by strangers in elaborate costumes celebrating an annual convention. They discover the head of the house is Dr. Frank N. Furter, an apparent mad scientist who actually is an alien transvestite who creates a living muscle man in his laboratory. The couple is seduced separately by the mad scientist and eventually released by the servants who take control.
Mamma, Mimi, Michele, call out any one of those names and I will answer. There are several hats on my shelf. My passions are photography, being outside, movies, tv, pop culture and anything haunted or spooky. People are my other interest, I love meeting new people and socializing. When I lived in Savannah GA I worked as a tour guide both haunted and historical tours. I met people from all over the world, that was the best part of the job. All of this I can write about too, that’s the beauty of being a writer.
